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PREFACE ix

We wanted this book to be suitable either for the controls engineer or the
roboticist. Therefore, Appendix A provides a background in robot kine-
matics and Jacobians, and Chapter 2 a background in control theory and
mathematical notions. The intent was to furnish a text for a second course
in robotics at the graduate level, but given the background material it is used
at UTA as a first year graduate course for electrical engineering students.
This course was also listed as part of the undergraduate curriculum, and the
undergraduate students quickly digested the material.
Chapter 3 introduces the robot dynamical equations needed as the basis
for controls design. In Appendix C and examples throughout the book are
given the dynamics of some common arms. Chapter 4 covers the essential
topic of computed-torque control, which gives important insight while also
bringing together in a unified framework several sorts of classical and modern
robot control schemes.
Robust and adaptive control are covered in Chapters 5 and 6 in a parallel
fashion to bring out the similarities and the differences of these two
approaches to control in the face of uncertainties and disturbances. Chapter
7 addresses some advanced techniques including learning control and arms
with flexible joint coupling.
Modern intelligent control techniques based on biological systems have
solved many problems in the control of complex systems, including unknown
non-parametrizable dynamics and unknown disturbances, backlash, friction,
and deadzone. Therefore, we have added a chapter on neural network control
systems as Chapter 8. A robot is only useful if it comes in contact with its
environment, so that force control issues are treated in Chapter 9.
A key to the verification of successful controller design is computer
simulation. Therefore, we address computer simulation of controlled
nonlinear systems and illustrate the procedure in examples throughout the
text. Simulation software is given in Appendix B. Commercially available
packages such as MATLAB make it very easy to simulate robot control
systems.
Having designed a robot control system it is necessary to implement it;
given today’s microprocessors and digital signal processors, it is a short step
from computer simulation to implementation, since the controller subroutines
needed for simulation, and contained in the book, are virtually identical to
those needed in a microprocessor for implementation on an actual arm. In
fact, Chapter 10 shows the techniques for implementing the advanced
controllers developed in this book on actual robotics systems.
All essential information and controls design algorithms are displayed in
tables in the book. This, along with the List of Examples and List of Tables
at the beginning of the book make for convenient reference by the student,
the academician, or the practicing engineer.
We thank Wei Cheng of Milagro Design for her L T Xtypesetting and
A
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Copyright © 2004 by Marcel Dekker, Inc.